Saturday, November 10, 2018

Ayah of the Day:
Serve Allah, and do not ascribe partners to Him. And show kindness to your parents, and to your close kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and to the neighbor who is of kin, and the neighbor who is not of kin, and the fellow traveler and the wayfarer and (the bondsmen) whom your right hands possess. For Allah does not love the arrogant, the boastful. [4: 36]

Hadith of the Day:
People are like mines of gold and silver. Those of them who are best before Islam are best in Islam, if they have religious knowledge and understanding. [Bukhari and Muslim]

Wise Quote of the Day:
And love your Lord by serving Him. For lovers are but servants of the Beloved. [a poet]

Guidance of the Day:
Dissatisfaction is a motivator to seek out better character. A human being is spiritually stalled as long as he is content and smug with his state. The basis of achieving good is knowing yourself. When this happens, a person becomes aware of his imperfections, minor and major, and ashamed of them to the point he strives to replace them with generosity, agreeableness, honesty, reliability, dignity, and other noble traits.

When the mind is given the responsibility to decide upon right and wrong it will usually base its judgment subjectively: what advances or thwarts one's whims? Our understanding of right and wrong, licit and illicit, needs a judge higher than ourselves and our whims. We are beings who are created and, therefore, have a Creator who brought us into existence for a reason. It is His purpose and guidance that informs our sensitivity and response to right and wrong. [Purification of the heart]

Food for Thought:
If you want to talk to Allah perform salah, and if you want Allah to talk to you, read Quran.

Sunday, November 04, 2018

Brief Medical update:
How much Alcohol is good for you?
Naveed Akhtar, MD

This study published recently in the Lancet journal is sparking discussion in the medical community.

The study, entitled the Global Burden of Disease, looked at levels of alcohol consumption in 195 countries worldwide. In depth analysis of data from millions of alcohol consumers was collected from 1990-2016 in people aged 15-96 yo and compared against a control population of those that did not drink at all or had a minimum of one alcoholic beverage daily.

The final verdict of the study was that NO AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION WAS DETERMINED SAFE OR BENEFICIAL FOR OVERALL HEALTH.

This refutes data from prior smaller studies that stated that moderate alcohol consumption was beneficial for health. This new study indicates that any amount of alcohol consumption can lead to various health problems even in moderate drinkers. Physicians are now advised to counsel their patients to not drink alcohol. While it will be difficult for everyone to abstain, it is up to the individual to follow medical advice. The gist of the study is that the harm from drinking alcohol is much greater than thought previously and that no amount of consumption is considered safe. These verses from the Holy Quran revealed 1400 years ago has the same conclusion with regards to intoxicants. “In them is great harm, and a benefit for the people; but their harm is greater than their benefit. (2:219)

They ask you about intoxicants and gambling. Say: “In them is great harm, and a benefit for the people; but their harm is greater than their benefit.” And they ask you how much are they to give, Say: “The excess.” It is thus that God clarifies for you the revelations that you may think. (2:219)

Monday, October 22, 2018

Ayah of the Day:
Those who spend their wealth by night and by day, secretly and openly, they will have their reward with their Lord. And they will have no fear nor will they grieve. (4: 274)

Hadith of the Day:
Giving alms to a poor is one charity, and for a relative it amounts to two good deeds i.e. charity and benevolence to kinsmen. [Tirmidhi]Wise Quote of the Day:
Skyscraping material achievements are of no value to the true Muslim if they hinder rather than help his spiritual growth. [Abu Mohammad Asad]

Guidance of the Day:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If a person is given silence, he is given wisdom." The tongue is a great temptation. It is easy to say something that brings ruin upon its speaker. Learning how to control the tongue is an enormous discipline. If it is words for the sake of words, it is a waste of time and a sign of bad character.

Imam Mawlud mentions spiritual isolation for the purpose of reflection. Some remember death through visualization, using the puissance of imagination for visualizing their bodies being washed, wrapped and lowered in the grave. Others reflect on the tributes of God the Exalted by methodically pondering the meaning of each of His divine names that speak of God's awesome power, knowledge, clemency, mercy, creative powers, and more. [Purification of the Heart]

Food for Thought:
If a person hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live. The one who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.